"I'd like to tighten it down," objected Walt. "I think we're losing power and we can't increase the power—but we could tighten the beam."
"Too bad you can't wave it back and forth like a fireman squirting water on a lawn," said Arden.
"Firemen don't water lawns—" began Walt Franks, but he was interrupted by a wild yell from Channing.
"Something hurt?" asked Arden.
"No. Walt, we can wave the beam."
"Until we find 'em? We've been trying that. No worky."
Freddy called in excitedly: "Something went by just now and I don't think it was Christmas!"
"We might have hit 'em a dozen times in the last ten minutes and we'll never know it," said Channing. "But the spaceliners can be caught. Let's shoot at them like popping ducks. Shotgun effect. Look, Walt, we can electronically dance the beam at a high rate of speed, spraying the neighborhood. Freddy can hear us return because we have to hit them all the time and the waver coming on the way back will pass through his position again and again. We'll set up director elements in the reflector, distorting the electrical surface of the parabolic reflector. That'll divert the beam. By making the phases swing right, we can scan the vicinity of the Empress of Kolain like a flying-spot television camera."
Walt turned to one of the technicians and explained. The man nodded. He left for Franks' laboratory and Walt turned back to his friends.
"Here shoots another couple of hours. I, for one, am going to grab forty winks."